Machinery for decorticating vegetable fibers.



Patented Sept. l9, I899.

R. J.. EKE. MACHINERY FOR DECORTICATING VEGETABLE FIBERS.

(Application filed Dev. 30, 1897.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l,

{N0 Model.)

Inventor La W y,M/w%

Q ttorneys No. 633,507. Patented Sept. l9, I899.

R. J. EKE.

MACHINERY FOR DECORTICATING VEGETABLE FIBERS.

(Application filed Dec. 30, 1897.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-8heet 2,

Cl tl'ornqys UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT J. EKE, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

MACHINERY FOR DECORTICATING VEGETABLE FIBERS.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 633,507, dated September19, 1899. Application filed December 30,1897. Serial No. 664,542. (Nomodel.)

To all wlwm, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, ROBERT JAMES EKE, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain and Ireland, residing at 34 WVhite Lion street, Pentonville,London England, have invented an Improvement in Brakes, of which thefollow ing is a specification.

My improved brake is especially designed for the decortication of rhea.Before my invention, so far as I am aware, no machine was ever producedwhich would successfully accomplish this object, although many effortshave been made in this direction, the reason being that on account ofthe peculiar structure of rhea the ordinary brakes will not successfullytreat it.

The ordinary method of treating rhea by machinery is to pass it throughplain rollers and then through breaking-rollers and beaters. The plainrollers crush the stem, thus embedding the woody portion of the stem inthe bark, epidermis, and gum. The breaking-rollers then break the stemsacross, and as the woody portions are cemented to the bark they breakthe bark, and with it the fiber contained therein. It has also beenproposed to split the stems; but so far as I am aware no machine, priorto my invention,has been devised which will do this successfully.

Rhea has been successfully decorticated by hand by=stripping the barkand fiber from the wood y stick. The expense of this method hasprevented it from coming into general use.

The object of my invention is to imitate by machinery this hand process,and this object I have perfectly attained by means of the machinedescribed and shown.

My invention consists in the construction and combination of parts, ashereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of myimproved brake. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of part of thesplittingrollers. Fig. 3 is an end View of the same. Fig. 4 is adiagrammatic representation of the driving-gear. Fig. 5 is a plan viewof the driving-gear. Fig. 6 is a side view of the heaters. Fig. 7 is aside view of the breaking-rolls; and Fig. 8 is a plan view of themachine, the gearing being omitted.

The same letters and numerals denote the same parts in all the figures.

(t ct show the standards of the machine, Z) Z) the rollers for splittingor wedging open the stalks as they are fed into the machine. A plan of aportion of these rollers is shown at Fig. 2, drawn to an enlarged scale,showing their position in respect to one another when fitted in themachine. It will be seen that the edges 0 of the circumferentialV-grooves are rounded, so that the stalks may not be out, but onlywedged open longitudinally. It will also be observed that the rollers Z)Z) do not touch at any part.

(Z (Z show the rollers for breaking the stalks transversely after theyhave been wedged open by the rollers Z2 Z-v. I may have the grooves onthe rollers 01 cl of any suitable form, and I prefer to have both therollers provided with longitudinal U-grooves (see Fig. 7) or V-grooves.

e e show the heaters. These are provided with blades which intermesh, asshown at Fig. 6, detached. The edgesf of the blades are rounded, so thatthe fiber may not be cut.

g g show the tension-rollers, which I prefer to have groovedlongitudinally in the same way as the rollers (Z (Z.

h shows the feeding-table or endless band, and t the delivery-table orendless band. These tables or bands travel on the rollers 7c 7;, Z Z,respectively. p

The heaters e e are caused to rotate at a high speed by means of thepinion m, which engages with a spur-wheel rt, keyed on the pulley-shaft0. On the shafts of the rollers Z) Z) are keyed spur-wheels which engagewith one another, so that one of these rollers is driven by the other.Onto each of the shafts of the rollers (Z (Z, c c, and g g islikewisekeyed a coupling-wheel, so that each of the upper rollers is connectedwith a corresponding lower one. These coupling-wheels are not shown onthe drawings. The splitting-rollers Z) Z) and heaters e e areadjusted bythe handles 10.

9 shows a shield for preventing the woody portions from mixing with thetreated fiber on thetable t'.

The bearings r s t a slide in pockets r' s' if u in the frame a, so thatthe rollers Z) Z) (Z (1,

LIL

beaters e e, and tension-rollers g 9 can be adjusted according to thenature of the fiber to be treated, as the different fibers require moreor less pressure exerted on them.

oshows springs pressingon bearingssand u. The action of a machineconstructed as above is as follows: The pulley-shaft is driven bysuitable means. The pinion 19 engages with the spur-wheel g, which iskeyed on the shaft of the bottom splitting-roller b, which insures thispair of rollers 71 l) rotating. The spur-wheel w on the shaft 5 engageswith the idle-wheel 00, (see Fig. 4,) and thus drives the spur-wheel yon the shaft 6, thereby actuating the pair of breaking-rollers (Z (Z.Another spur-wheel z is also keyed on the shaft 6, and this spur-wheelgears with another idle-wheelz' and sotransmits motion to the spur-wheely, keyed on the shaft 8, thereby actuating the pair of tension-rollers gg. The roller 70 is provided with a sprocket- \vhee1k',connected bymeans of a chain at with another sprocket-wheel w, keyed on the shaft 5.The system ofgearing between the various rolls is not shown in Fig. 8,butis an ordinary toothed gearing,suitably arrangedfor driving therollsin theirproperdirections or in respect to each other, as will bereadily understood by reference to Figs. 4 and 5. The stalks are fed onto the band or table h and are then carried to the rollers b I). Thestalks enter the grooves of the upper and lower rollers Z) I) and arewedged open as they pass between the said rollers. They are thenconveyed to the rollers d (Z, where they are broken transversely, and inthis form are carried between the heaters e e, where, on account oftheinterior being exposed, the woody portions are beaten out, and thefiber then passes between the tension-rollers g g and is delivered ontothe band or table 2'.

I have found that it is necessary to set the heaters e e as close aspossible to the tensionrollers gg, so that the ribbons may be cleanedright to the end.

I may have additional pairs of heaters and tension-rollers if founddesirable.

If desired, the fiber treated as above can be passed through the machinea second time; but this will not be found necessary as a rule.

hat I claim, and desire to secure by Letlers Patent, is-

Ina brake, the combination of a conveyer, and two rolls,b, one above theother, provided with similar circumferential grooves and elevations, theedges of the grooves and elevations being rounded, and said rolls beingso located that the convex portions of one roll enter the concaveportions of the other roll,

but so that the surfaces of the rolls are not in contact, withbreaking-rolls, beaters and drawing-rolls, all the parts being arrangedin the order mentioned, substantially as described.

R. J. EKE. Vitnessesa J. M. LANDON, A. E. VIDAL.

